The Magician and the Fool
by JaaK
Summary: A spunky little twentysomething tapdances into town, and a strange new murderer gives Hisoka a run for his money! Bright colors and mindbending puzzles hint at my glorious case of OCD! Prepare to wrack your brains kids! [Discontinued]
1. Capitulo Um

Author's Note: Ah my goodness! She's alive? That's right! After nearly a year of pen-name hybernation, Jaak is back with the fruits (and vegetables) of her labor: The Magician and the Fool! It's not fully done, and that's whyI was waiting so long to post it,I wanted to make sure that I wouldn't just leave my loyal readers hanging (because...heh let's admit, writer's block is the #3 cause of death in aspiring novelists today!) Like I said, it's not done completely, shame on me, but I hope you all can chew on the first eleven chapters while I scribble down the rest!

Hehe...after three minutes of glorious postdom, I noticed my story was lacking the comments and most importantly: The Disclamer. So here it is in nice bold print in the event that it's not clear enough that I'm not Togashi Yoshihiro XD

Disclaimer: In no way do I own HunterxHunter or any characters involved. Nor do I own Here Comes the Rain Again by the Eurithmics (hence the band name underneath the lyrics). However, Kawari, Nazonazo, Don, Veto, and Cici are my own original characters (more or less, some rely on stereotypes, but we won't get into that heh).  


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Here comes the rain again 

_Falling on my head like a memory_

_Falling on my head like a new emotion_

_I want walk in the open wind_

_I want to talk like lovers do_

_I want to dive into your ocean_

_Is it raining here with you?_

_Here comes the rain again_

_Raining in my head like a tragedy_

_Tearing me apart like a new emotion_

_I want breathe in the open wind_

_I want to kiss like lovers do_

_I want to dive into your ocean_

_Is it raining here with you?_

-Eurithmics

The Magician and the Fool: Capitulo Um

Yorkshin city. The supposed 'city of growth' the land of opportunity. By day herds of men and women in suits talked on cell phones crossing the streets, filing papers in their cubicles, each lost in their troubles of work, their nose to the grind stones, their personalities down to a simple bar code and a set of numbers. A child stood with fearful eyes full of tears, wondering where his mother had gone. An old man in tatters sat on a street corner with a Mason jar and cardboard sign. Everyone native to that city had the same emptiness in his or her eyes. What used to be sadness now dulled to apathy, each loosing their individuality to the Wall Street. Lovers came home to their spouses and an interloper; children taunted and hurt each other at school, caffeine pills and cure-alls started the daily routine. This was our world. These are our people.

_When one examines a deck of cards, one finds four suits. Hearts, Clubs, Spades, and Diamonds. The four suits contain numbers one to ten, and then go on to royalty. There are four jacks, four queens, and four kings. This makes fifty-two cards. But there are two other mysterious cards in the deck: A single pair of jokers. One red, one black. Why not four? And what is the use of these cards? The supposed 'Wild Card' of the deck, can assume any value, any form, any card of the deck. Such versatility causes more superstitious people to think the card to have supernatural abilities. Sadly the probability of finding one another is a one in fifty-three chance, but some say once they do meet…something magic happens._

However by night, things are much more interesting. Soft rain offered a feeling of calm, and confined most peevish people to their homes. The loving twilight blanketed the unfeeling town, bejeweled with the bright lights of the big city. Techno beats bled from the nightclubs, men and women with no where else to go walked the streets stained with red light. In this world, even love could be bought. People had lost their morals; their happiness followed suit. Not much could be done now, only to watch it all burn.

_Tracing back further in history, the bicycle deck actually descends from the famed Tarot deck. It too contains four suits: Cups, Wands, Swords, and Pentacles. It has royalty for each suit, but the entire deck consists of seventy-eight cards. The extra twenty-two cards come from the major arcana, consisting of cards with distinct meanings; such as Justice, The Tower, Death, Temperance, etc. It is easy to see how the bicycle deck takes reference of these ancient cards. Even the joker has ancestors, if one looks at the first two major arcana, one sees the Fool and the Magician._

Rain poured lightly from the skies. To some it seemed depressing, the sky sobbing for the world in shame. To others it was refreshing, washing away the pains of the day. The streets were relatively empty, save a passing car or two, a few drunks singing and stumbling down the thin sidewalks, lonely night owls prowling the street plagued by insomnia and depression.

_One joker blissfully ignorant of the world, dancing at the edge of a cliff on a journey seeking self-expression, with not a care in the world that death teases at his ankles. He lives the life of a god, skipping about in wild colors, offering the grim reaper a spot of tea, all simply lost in his own little world without a thought of the sharp tongues and green hearts of others. Stupid, laughing, loving. He represents all things frivolous, ridiculous and thoughtless: delirium, mania, infatuation with all that he meets. A bumbling fool with a cheery grin, he takes life as it comes and savors each moment._

A strange sight indeed: a young woman skipping through the Yorkshin streets with a wide mischievous grin. Her hair was odd: wavering dark locks framing her face to her chin, wild spikes tipped with pink gel at the back of her head, nearly unaffected by the rain. Accompanying her cheshire grin were large green old-fashioned driving goggles spotted with water drops gripped around her head and covered her eyes. A wild printed shirt of bright color swayed about her hips as she danced down the narrow sidewalk. It was of thin fabric, polyester maybe, so the rain simply fell through it. Black gloves with colored fingers covered her small hands, a fringed scarf of the same pattern trailed behind her, waving a cheerful farewell to the ripples in the puddles. Faded denim covered her lower half and made a thick wet sound as she moved. The pants were already a bit long, but now they were soaked through up to the knees. Underneath her feet were bare strangely enough; she hardly ever wore shoes. Not because she didn't like them, she adored how creative shoes could be. It was more of…she forgot to put them on. Twenty-something and in love with the world; laughing like a child, completely oblivious to those around her: she was obviously from out of town.

_The other: the Magician, a more serious joker. Mysterious in the very sense of the word. He astounds us with his tricks of the mind, taking any form he pleases, so long as it is his to gain. A sly, capricious character often looked down upon for his selfish ways. Unlike the Fool, there is a plotting mind behind that innocent smirk. He represents originality, self-reliance, imagination, flexibility, dexterity and subtlety. Able to choose his own path in the fog, he often stands alone because of his careful planning. Few allies, if any, he amuses himself in simple games with simple minds._

A man walked slowly down the streets looking straight head, but not considering the surrounding area at all. Sharp black boots clicked on the cement and made a light wet sound in the few puddles. White baggy pants were tucked into his boots, bunched around the edge with a characteristic deck of playing cards in his pocket. A white shirt with mushroom sleeves hung from his broad shoulders. Adorned with a black club and spade on the front, it clung to his toned chest from the rain. The same plastic rings decorated his wrists and strong arms, obviously an experienced fighter. A thin pale face unconsciously held a dangerous smirk, innocent to seem; deadly to mean. On his cheeks laid his signature jester's star and teardrop, the paint starting to run a bit forming colorful tears. Cold hazel eyes were narrow as usual and clouded in thought, with smooth upraised brow implied an even temper and pleasant humor, but with this man, who knew which end was up? His hair, a wild and bleeding red, swung as he walked and hung limp uncharacteristically clinging fast to his neck and cheekbones. For those unfortunate enough to know this man, a thick cloak of mystery surrounded him, and often burdened and boggled the mind. Twenty-seven maybe? The guy was a walking rubix cube, playing games with the world, laughing like a killer, and carefully watching the people stumble through his maze: obviously well-adjusted to this drab and easily manipulated city.

The Fool, the Magician, both strange and confusing individuals, both jokers in a sense. Both terribly amused with the world. One adores people, the other uses them. One picks up where the other leaves off and back again, both in a vicious cycle of passion and confusion should they ever touch. It is true what they say, be the result romantic bliss or torturous mass-destruction, something magic happens when the two jokers of the deck meet.

The woman continued on her way beaming at the weather through her tinted goggles. She whisked past the man, brushing his arm with her shoulder by accident. As luck would have it a large pool of water lay painfully between them, its liquid ricocheting all over the man. Strangely enough, neither of them seemed to notice. They simply continued on their way. Even more disturbing: the water ran up a wall of the building next to them.

_End Capitulo _

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Tah-dah. I swear it gets better than this, this was just a tidbit to get my feet wet and see what you guys think of it! Flames are welcome and almost loved, so long as you have a reason to your angst. Brace yourselves, There's ten more chapters left of this mess and it's not even done! 


	2. Capitulo Dois

Author's note: Even I can tell that this chapter comes off as a bit fangirl-esque, but please bear with me it DOES get better and more within character boundaries...For the record I have no idea if Hisoka likes eggs, but you know what? It's called improv. XD 

Disclaimer: Remeber those characters I mentioned earlier? Don and Kawari made an appearance hooray! And even Nazo-chan! She may sound a bit random now, but she'll be tons of fun later...I still don't own HunterxHunter, nor would i want to. Takes the fun out of it you see. 

The Fool and the Magician: Capitulo Dois

The same man sat at a small white table on a café's patio and stared listlessly into the tan pool of tea. His own dismal expression stared back from the cup. Since the Ryodan had left this town was just a shell of what it once was, as far as excitement was concerned. He swept a hand through his crimson hair, once again uncharacteristically down in a gentleman look, and tried to think of something fun. The Ryodan had finished their work and he'd taken the heads of whom he liked, Illumi was on the far end of the earth most likely, and his little apple still had a lot of training ahead of him. When this problem first arose, Hisoka usually amused himself with the people of Yorkshin. But their minds didn't even begin to comprehend his games, so there was no confusion nor anguish. His only outlet was to slaughter random people for fun, but even then it was getting old quickly. He looked over the newspaper laying under his hand for anything interesting happening.

"Hm…Buzzards win again…hurricanes blowing in…it's my 'lucky' day today…Oho what is this?" He mumbled to himself reading over the paper. "Seventeen dead in tragic accident…how awful" he snickered, his signature grin lighting up his face again as he read. The grin deepened as he looked over the article's left margin

**I**t was 11:45 Monday morning in our own Yorkshin City…. 

**M**onorail mysteriously crashed…. 

**C**ar 13 malfunctioned, sending the train…. 

**O**f the surrounding building…. 

"**M**oving torrent of sparks seemed to levitate…  
**I**n the building only three deaths… 

**N**ever happen again" said operator Jim Mitchell… 

**G**oing to work by bike may be healthier… 

Hisoka chuckled with wild eyes. "So…Who's our visitor?" He licked his lips reading down the rest of the column's left side for any other hints. The shrill cry of a young woman broke his concentration and he looked up dully.

"SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME! AH! PLEASE STOP IT! THAT HURTS!" the voice cried in turmoil, nearly music to the clown's ears.

"JUST KEEP QUIET!" a rough voice hushed her, retorted with a choked scream.

"My, my…. Death and rape in the same afternoon…It really is my lucky day" Hisoka snickered and left his tea. He followed the noise and curled around the dark alley only to see a fat mustached man holding a now unconscious woman, and a PVC pipe still clenched in his hand. It must've been a robbery instead.

"HEY! Where the HELL have you been Johnson! I been waitin' all day! Here's the dame, now get lost!" the man shoved the girl to Hisoka, mistaking him for a fellow gang member and ran off.

"Hm." Hisoka stared blankly at the woman, and then to the man running away. "That's what I get for wearing a suit."

"Nnngh…Ah my head…How many did I have last night…" the young woman groggily woke up and rubbed her forehead. She groaned with a migraine and let her hand fall back on the pillow…wait…PILLOW? She bolted up, finding herself in a strange room, a strange bed. "Oh gods…not again…" She sighed to herself, her mind swimming, searching for what happened the night before. Oddly enough, the sundress she had been wearing when the man attacked her was still on, touched only by sleep. "Then what happened…?" she mumbled to herself and looked around the apartment. She gasped when she saw the strong back of a tall muscular red-haired man. "Oh my gods sir I'm so sorry! This is so strange…I would say I didn't mean to but you see I have no idea where I am or who you are or how I got her and—" she spoke quickly over-apologetic as always, but was cut off by the man's quick turn to face her.

"I have something to tell you that you may not know about yourself," He said quite officially with an unusually serious expression. The woman sat up attentively, waiting for his words with hopeful eyes. Her hair was a bit mussed from the pillow, but it was a short smooth bob ending just under her ears, dark brown in color. Her frame was petite, wrapped in a simple melon-colored sundress with white borders. He hesitated a few minutes, and expected her to break out and yell at him or at least become annoyed. But she did not, she just sat there with deep brown eyes, wide with wonder. He shuddered. Those eyes…those eyes were like a child's, like Gon's in expression, but were more almond-shaped and tapered off into curved black wings. "…you snore" he finished with a playful chuckle, expecting a big shock, followed by anger as people always responded

But once again she disappointed him. She blinked with a confused expression and burst into laughter. "Oh do I?" it dissipated to a quiet giggle "Sorry I guess" she smiled, deeming this man tame for the moment. "But if you don't mind my asking…What happened? Before I came to I mean"

"Well, I woke up and had some eggs, then I got dressed and then…"

"No I meant yesterday!" she laughed, quite amused with him.

"Ah," he said sarcastically. "I thought you were being raped, and so gallant me came to your rescue, only to find a man holding you. He shoved you into my arms and that was it." He chuckled finding his words to be quite a tale.

"Oh…" she mumbled to herself laid back on the pillow. "And so you brought me back here…" She muttered to the opposite wall in something of a question's form. She turned on her side and buried her head in the pillow.

"Why yes. What else was I to do with a limp young maiden?" he twittered to himself, but stopped for a moment, hearing quiet sobs from the pillow. "Hm." His eyes dulled and his smile faded as her body trembled lightly beneath the linens. Hisoka stared stoically for a while longer and walked out the door.

He sighed and locked the door simply by habit. What more was there to say? She was crying, and it was of no advantage to console her. It was surprisingly a clear night, only a few clouds hung around the moon, giving the sky a soft look of calm. Even in this city there were so many stars, and there were hardly any people in the street. He walked down the sidewalk slowly, looking up at the sky, and maybe back to earth (paying attention to neither of course). His eyes caught a glint of something near the bus stop across the street. It was a second moon, no…a smile of sorts? It was much too wide for a normal human being. He would've disregarded it and continued on but the crescent was attached to an oddly shaped body, an appendage of which fell over the edge and swung loosely. He stared trying to figure out just what it was. The frame was small and human-shaped, but the middle was shaped like a squished mushroom. It didn't seem to move at all except for the arm, simply by gravity. He walked slowly to the covered bench area and inspected what strange creature lay on its roof. It was a body. A body of a young woman even, her hair was a bob in front and spilled what it could over the metal cover, but it shot out in all directions at the back of her head, spiked and tipped with pink gel. She was dressed nearly like a French marionette, with a harlequin jumpsuit and a skirted overdress. The strange mushroom-shaped lump was the skirt, fluffed up with several petticoats, similar to that of a shoujo manga super hero. Such bright colors of it all pierced the night, bathing in a pool of yellow light from the street lamp. Her face confirmed his suspicions. Her stationary eyes were wide with shock and seemed to stare off somewhere unknown, taking no notice of Hisoka. But across her face was the widest grin, as if she were a living cartoon. Her lifeless and playful expression only added to her empty doll-like appearance. His eyes laced over her unmoving body and back to her unusually magenta eyes. Although with this woman thus far, who knew what was the usual?

All of a sudden those lifeless eyes flicked back at him and her whole body snapped up immediately. "CAN'T YOU SEE WE'RE A SOCIETY OF DETACHMENT? SIT OUR YOUNG IN FRONT OF A SCREEN AND OFF WE GO! AAAAAHWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" She suddenly burst into an excited screech with that same wild grin and crazed pink eyes. She leapt up from her perch and shot off to another landing and bounced off, squealing with delight like a child.

Hisoka stared after her with a quirked eyebrow. His signature grin curled about his lips as he started to clap and laugh. "So here is our visitor…"

_End Capitulo _

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Review if you love me! 

Flame me if you don't! 

(I still love you) 


	3. Capitulo Tres

That's so much for the reviews everyone! I hope I don't disappoint ¿ still fangirlesque, but it'll wear off like cheap lipstick soon...

Once again the egg enigma holds true o.O¿ eh...roll with it.

I don't own HunterxHunter...but I do own this toaster strudel  
(I wrote my name on it with those spiffy icing packets)  
Hoory product advertisement

The Magician and the Fool: Capitulo Três

Two thick fingers clenched around her nose lightly. The brown-eyed girl gasped and sat up sharply with shock to see Hisoka sitting next to her on the bed laughing. "You have got to kick that habit" he snickered

"I just breathe heavily!" She blushed, and sighed when she looked at the clock. "It's too early for that kind of wake up call…" she rubbed her eyes and laid back down, bundling the sheet over her head.

"Nonsense, you slept nearly the whole day yesterday" Hisoka ripped the sheets from the mattress effortlessly.

"Nnngh…did not…I'm a creature of the night…" she mumbled, curling into a ball and stuffing her head under the pillow.

"Mmmm…you seem to like my bed a lot, perhaps we should spend some time in it?" he chuckled as she sat up immediately. A response similar to that of a rake when you step on the wrong end.

"NO…thank you…" she said abruptly, a thin blush falling over her cheeks. "So! Ummm…umm…what's to do about breakfast?"

"That's for you to decide," he grinned and walked to the kitchenette "I like my eggs how I like people"

"How comforting…" She couldn't hold back a laugh as she looked around for a pan. "Poached I suppose?"

"Sunny side up actually" He said bluntly and flicked open a newspaper. He pointed to the left cabinet under the counter.

"Ah…" she blinked with a bit of confusion but scoffed as she got out the pan and started the burner. She buttered the pan and cracked two eggs. He watched as she buzzed around the counter, putting bread in the toaster, rustling the pan so the eggs wouldn't burn, and pouring some milk.

"I find it a bit odd that you didn't resist" He said as she set the plate before him. She only blinked and asked how he meant. "Do you always cook breakfast for people? Or are you that weak of spirit"

"A little of both" she laughed and started on a piece of toast. "I do this all the time…Oh and sorry that it's not juice, you only have white 'zin and old take out besides milk" she added "Oh! Um…sorry to ask, but how are you called?"

"You apologize too much." he said bluntly again, turning the page.

"I know….But that doesn't help me, I can't very well call you Sir all the time can I?"

"Uncle Hisoka"

"Uncle Hisoka?"

"Uncle Hisoka."

"Sir I am twenty-seven years old, you don't look much older than that and--" she stood from the table with a bit of amused annoyance. He cut her off by abruptly standing right next to her

"Yes, but you are smaller than me, so Uncle Hisoka it is."

He chuckled and sat back down. This girl would be quite entertaining as a pet. He could hardly believe she was as old as he was. She looked the part a bit, but she had eyes like a child, like Gon's. Eyes that told of trembling fear deep inside though the teeth were clenched with anger. Eyes that simply glowed with ignorant happiness. Eyes that told him exactly what he wanted to hear. Eyes that—if used in the right way—made him very excited. Speaking of which, another strange article appeared in the newspaper:

**C**ommissioners of the museum state that… 

**O**f glass was completely shattered… 

**M**useum will consider concrete walls…. 

**E**very window broken… 

**C**ourtyard completely speared… 

**L**ike a hurricane. However we haven't had any bad wind lately… 

**O**ver $23,000 of property damage to the glass building… 

**S**hards covering the surrounding area… 

**E**ven 19 civilians skewered in strange destruction… 

**R**ecovery is slow to come… 

"Mmmm…yes you sly thing, you…" he mumbled to himself, growing eager to meet with this visitor and soon kill them for sport.

"It's Kawariyasui" her voice broke his fog of thought. For a moment they exchanged confused looks (a strange sight indeed to see Hisoka of all people confused). "I asked if you were going to even consider what my name was?" her voice had a slight sharpness to it. "And you said yes…and something else I really don't care to hear" she scoffed as he caught up and licked his lips accordingly. "So I said it's Kawariyasui Kawari"

"Hmm….nah" he yawned listlessly and got up from the table, leaving a very confused Kawari.

"What do you mean 'nah' ?"

"Na. Ma! Ja" He waved bluntly and locked the door behind him, much to her dismay and confusion.

It was midday before he passed by the old museum. The same one from the article. It was a marvelous sight, even with the crowds of people gawking and gasping. He stood within the mob, not looking at the wreck, but at the people. Some were worried, others were just plain dumbfounded. Too nosy to avoid it, too self-absorbed not to make themselves the victim, too apathetic to cry for the loss. Some people left flowers for the dead, some just scratched their heads, trying to figure out just how or why this happened. For some this just provided entertainment. He backed out, these horrid people were starting to shove. It was a miracle he didn't start cracking necks right there. Hisoka merely retired to a park bench across the street and contented himself with smiling at the children until they ran away crying.

It was several hours before every last person cleared out. The moon was high in the sky and the lights were already clicking on, one by one. Hisoka smirked and stood, sauntering casually up to the sight. "Such amiable destruction I'd suppose her a man…" He chuckled to himself and stepped over the yellow police tape. The wreckage was delicious, he wondered how art enthusiasts could view it as a tragedy. He vaguely remembered this place, passing by every now and again. The only building completely made of glass besides the skyscrapers. It was like a greenhouse, a cage for those inside. One could see the pieces of art inside. The small groups of miserable people, judging the fruits of other people's misery. Now it was a piece of art in and of its own. The grand building was now reduced to a thick foundation and a wretched lining of jagged border with an appearance similar to that of cut grass. All manner of glass dotted the courtyard. Large chunks stood skewered in the lawn like a miniature hall of mirrors, encircling him in a maze of self-replicas. Tiny splinters littered the ground and crunched under his shoes as he stepped among the waste. Some of the glass was burnt, other pieces were warped and melted; giving a true fun house feel. His eyes narrowed and darkened underneath. This visitor was good. Not good enough to truly impress him, but compared to the past boredom, this wasn't too shabby. A small whimper of pleasure fell from his lips as he felt a few biting rips at his hands. "Ku Ku…how absent minded of me…" He snickered licking his lips. He looked down to realize his hands were embedded with several razors.Hisoka pulled out a bloody shard with his teeth and chewed at it. It became apparent to passers-by that this man was not quite right in the head, however there were few passers-by that actually took notice. He sat on the sharp ground and quickly fell backwards. He groaned with a smile, pressing his weight into the tiny teeth digging wonderfully into him. A light rattling tink-tink-tink of glass being rolled over the lawn was heard. The sound was softened by something wet and heavy. Only Hisoka could make a snow angel in a pile of broken glass and lay there giggling like a child. He arched his back and wiped his forehead. This girl _was_ good. Hisoka sat up and looked around at his playground. It truly was a fun house now. Some mirrors were warped and some were caked with blood. He noticed the shards were in a pattern. This was no accident, perfectly calculated, perfectly placed. He could see himself: front, back, every inch of his cut up person, his bloodied outfit. The largest glass was in front of him; smiling a bloody grin back at him. He got up on his hands and pressed his forehead against the cool surface, his twin disappearing with the fog of his breath.

The words _You Came_ started to appear in the fogged up surface, as if a tiny finger was writing from the other side of the looking glass. He peered closer between the clear bits of the words to see a familiar grin.

"So I did" He licked his lips again, he'd forgotten about the chewed up glass in his mouth. "And you went though all the trouble to make me a playground" he grinned, more blood pouring from his lips.

The strange reflection of the young woman shook her head, keeping that grin. She wrote again _Wipe your mouth before you speak Magician_ and blew on 'her side' of the mirror.

He smeared the glass. It was ordinary again. She had left him literally without a single word. However this couldn't wipe the wicked smirk pulling at his face. He laughed differently from usual, it was loud and boomed against the glasses. He kicked the looking glass, sending shards ricocheting back at him. They ripped at his pants and sent him howling as they dug deep in his skin. "Ohhh…….you're good…" he panted quietly and walked back a bleeding pincushion.

_End Capitulo _

You'll soon find out I have the nasty habit of leaving off on a cliffhanger...  
but it works, don't you think?

Remember kids, I LOVE you and love to hear from you  
(in other words, please review, It's pointless to keep posting chapters when you find it bland and ill-written, and/or completelydisturbing and mentally disorienting)


	4. Capitulo Quatro

Back again!  
I'm sorry it takes so long to get these chapters up -.-¿  
I've been terribly busy this week due to upcoming deadlines at school  
But bear with me!

Thank you guys so much for the reviews,  
(it says that on Chapter 2's author's note, but my dyslexic hands made sure to mess it up)  
Right now it sounds very silly and strange, but soon the story will unfold and you'll be shivering like a crack addict before you know it -

If there was any doubt in your mind that I wasn't a middle-aged japanese man sporting rabbit ears and a dog mask, I think it's time we had a little talk...  
I'm sorry to ruin your dreams but...:sniff:  
I'm not Togashi Yoshihiro...and I don't own HunterxHunter or it'screamy filling  
(Pretty spiffy disclaimer huh?)

Lots of comedy in this chapter and many to come,  
also an eensy-weensy bit of suggestive themes 99¿ and coarse lanuage

please enjoy...:can't decide whether or not to change the rating:

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The Magician and the Fool: Capitulo Quatro

"AAAAAAAH!" The piercing screech of a familiar female roused him from a numb sleep. "MY GODS! UNCLE HISOKA YOU'RE ALL CUT UP! WAKE UP! HOW THE HELL CAN YOU SLEEP THROUGH THAT!" her voice rang through his ears and impaled him harder than the glass from last night.

"Ngh…what?" he rubbed his eyes in a daze and sat up, only to be burdened with another scream.

"THERE IS BROKEN GLASS STILL STUCK IN YOUR SKIN! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING LAST NIGHT!" she looked at his arms and hands with horror.

"Ugh…please stop yelling…" He rubbed his forehead, and found that it scraped a bit because he still had shards in his palms.

"What the hell were you THINKING! This is terrible! Your arms are full of glass, how the HELL are you going to get these out?" She griped trying to pull at one large piece, but stopped when he let out a sharp groan.

"I was playing…I think I was thinking…_My what a fun time…_and nothing more" he chuckled, finding that his chin was crusted with trails of previous blood flow. He hissed as he tried to pull out a few. "Nnn…Ahhs…ssss…now I remember…what a grand time" he smiled wistfully to himself.

"Fun? You sick bastard how can this be fun to you?" Kawari couldn't believe her eyes…he was actually deriving pleasure from this. "You look disgusting go take a shower!"

"Actually most of it's on my back, think you could get that for me Petto-chan?" Hisoka smiled still picking the stuff out of his hand.

"I'm not your—OH MY GODS!" she gasped looking at how many impalements he had. "Augh! And they're all…oh gods they're all crusted in! BASTARD! IDIOT BASTARD!" she whacked him over the back of the head "You should've gotten rid of this right after! Let alone AVOIDED IT ALTOGETHER!"

"Aw but it was so shiny and fun…" He turned his head and smiled a very deadly grin "One more whack like that and you'll have glass all through you " he whispered lightly

"A…all right then…" She mumbled as he took off his shirt. "Augh! Such a sick bastard…" She covered her mouth. It wasn't a very pretty sight. Kawari started on one piece stuck in his shoulder, poking it lightly to see how bad it was stuck. Much to her surprise it came out fairly easily, but not without a groan from her patient. "WHAT! WHAT'D I DO?"

"Nnnn…do it again…" He rubbed the spot on his shoulder and cracked his neck.

Mumbling with apprehension she set to work taking out piece after piece accompanied by a moan and a plink-plink of the bloodied shards landing on the side table. "Could you just keep still for minute?" She said with agitation, yanking out the last one roughly. His noises weren't exactly of pain…

"Oooooh…ohn ohn…Aaahs…ahh ah….AAH!" He mewled with every pierce and at last cried out, for he had been working on the largest piece, cutting a three-inch valley in his thigh.

"Shit shit! Bandages!" Kawari scurried away to the bathroom, rummaging around for something of use. When she came back with a roll of gauze, the lusty magician cut her off. "Oh my gods you're bleeding all over the—MMPH!"

Hisoka caught her lips with his, mouthing hungrily and holding her so deathly close. She flailed and tried to push away, but the knocks to his body were all the more fun. "Aaaaaah!" she reached and drove that same large shard into his arm, drawing a long gash. It only made him more aroused…her muffled screams, the open wounds. The stenches of his own blood running down his back and slopping to the floor, filling the room…gagging them both. He bit her cheek as she gasped for air. He was almost carrying her, stooping over her like that and holding her so close she could hardly breathe. Holding her…licking her….grinding against her…bleeding on her…and oh! Her teeth sank into his shoulder, vainly trying to break free of his vice. His head was spinning…was it his lust? Her fear? Or the fact he was loosing more blood that he wanted? Either way the next thing he knew she was standing against the front door, heaving with that delicious childlike fear in her eyes. He stepped in her direction with outstretched hands as if he were a monster and snickered "Come to Uncle Hisoka Petto-chan…" He smiled, blood coming through his lips.

Kawari shook her head, unable to make words now. She burst out the door and down the stairs before he could catch up to her. She didn't stop running until she was several blocks away. Out of breath and so confused as to what happened she sat on a bench and cried. "What a strange man…I can't go back. Not tonight." She buried her head in her hands and thought. "But I can't go back to Don and Veto…" she shook her head, one of which was the mustached man who gave her to Hisoka in the first place. She felt in her pocket and pulled out a set of keys. Her eyes were wide with wonder as she realized they were hers! "YES! OH THANK YOU LORD!" She grinned and ran off.

------------------------------------

"She frightens so easily…" He chuckled staring up at the ceiling…the floor had jumped out and attacked him again. He lay on the now crimson floor in a daze, wondering with a smile about anything and everything. There were streaks and splashes striping the walls. Since she left he felt his head spinning more and more, causing him to thrash around and knock into things, then fall to the floor. Most peculiarly: Hisoka lay in a growing pool of his own blood, and it had been dripping since before she left. Several minutes had past, why wasn't he dead? What strange tricks was this magician pulling, if indeed it was his doing? "Magic happens…"

------------------------------------

"Cici! How are you?" Kawari smiled and hugged her friend when she opened the door. "It's been ages!"

"It's been a week Gabrielle" said the blonde with a dull look as she leaned against the doorway. Her hair was bleach-blonde in a short mop, large hoop earrings punctuating her split ends. "What's up, you look horrible" she said with a knowing eye, calling attention to Kawari's tussled hair and puffy eyes, let alone the huge rust-colored blotch on her dress.

"Aw, come on Cici, what makes you think something's wrong? Can't I just drop by to visit my dear friend?" she smiled cheerfully, knowing the eyes lined with blue eye shadow could see right through her façade.

"Come on in then." Cici sighed, walking back into the small apartment. She adjusted her tube-top and went into the kitchen "Want anything?"

"No thanks, I'm all right" she sat down on the old beat-up couch.

The blonde came back out and set two glasses down and a bottle of Jim Beam. "You're a shit liar to the end you know that?" She laughed cynically and pulled up her hip-huggers to sit down. "Spill it, what's going on?" she said flatly and poured the drink straight to get her friend to talk. Cici took her own glass and rested her other arm over the back of her chair.

"Ci, it's two in the afternoon!" Kawari laughed, glad that nothing had changed.

"I'm a devout alcoholic" Cici shrugged with a smirk and kicked the coffee table lightly to get her friend's attention. "Why are you here? I want the truth Gabrielle" she said with a sobered look.

Kawari squirmed under the all-too-familiar stare of those steel blue eyes across the table. Cici always had her way with that stare. She remembered back when they were in high school, The Two-Too-Loose-Chicks in the dock martins and the frosty-green eye shadow caked on like lard. They'd beat the crap out of anyone in their way and both had the most convincing stare in the whole county. Times were different now, Cici dropped out with the 'man-of-her-dreams' and ended up in this dump with a baby on her hip and a bottle as a 5th limb. They'd both gotten caught up in some nasty stuff, but they always stayed friends. They always stayed coworkers.

"Hey bitch, I'm talkin to you" Cici kicked the table again, snapping her friend out of her daze. "You haven't changed a bit doll" she laughed and leaned forward. "We can chat all day, but I want to know what's wrong" she was sincere, actually glad that Gab had come to her.

"Nothing's really wrong…I just…I don't know" Kawari stumbled and sipped her drink.

"Aw down it girl, something's really wrong if even _you_ can't talk" she laughed, starting to reminiss herself. "Gabby-sue and Cici-may, the chicks that never slowed down, remember that? You'd never shut up and--"

"And you were the fastest girl in town, ho-bag!" Kawari chimed in, seeing her friend choke back a smile.

"Can't help it if the guys couldn't stay outta my drawers" Cici posed dramatically and put her wrist to her head. "Good times…"

The two laughed for a while, loosing track of time, and also lost count of how many refills they'd had. They talked for two maybe three hours, about high school and all the fun they had. They even remembered how they both came to work for Veto. Drink after drink they got back to the original point.

"Well anywayz…" Kawari slurred a bit and leaned closer to emphasize her point. "The guy's a friggen weirdo…Dresses like a clown…looks like one of those little Troll-dolls remember those?"

"Ewww! One-a those freaks that gets a rise outta feet?" Cici answered, causing them both to laugh "You had one-a those before…Jeremy or something?"

" 'Ze Ahteest Fohmally known as Jehramee' " She lowered her voice in a thick accent. Although I wouldn't be surprised if he does…" Kawari mumbled over the rim of her glass and continued in her rant. "Total S/M I gotta say…woke up the next morning and he was just covered in broken glass!"

"Woo-wee, never thought you'd be the dominant type!" Cici laughed filling up her drink again

"Nu-uh! I didn't do it!" She defended herself and turned a bit pink. "Said he was 'playing' the night before, th' freak did it on his own time!"

"Ah-huh" Cici leaned back in her chair with a smug grin. "So...how is he?"

"OH shut up ho-bag! Is that all you think about?"

"You too you know. So…good eh?"

"I haven't been with him yet!"

"Ha! YET! Either way, you're a shit liar!" Cici sat up and slammed her glass on the table. "Gabby Remplaçante NEVER let's a guy get away!" she ended with a snicker

"Times are different now…I'm not as…well I don't move as quickly as I used to anymore! Excuuuuse me if I have some dignity!" Kawari sobered up a bit and challenged her friend.

"Oh come off it!" Cici snarled, the mood changing quickly. "Don't talk like we haven't seen each other since high school, we're still in this together you know!"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about…"

"See! I knew it!" She stood up quickly, letting her chair fall on its back behind her "You've got a HELL of a lot of nerve girl! Come over outta nowhere, pretending like you're so happy to see me, have a little chit-chat and a drink and then what! You get back up on your high horse like you always have! You're asking me for help right Gabrielle! SO ACT LIKE IT!"

Kawari only responded with a hard look back at her.

"You're a good little actress…then take your bow!" Cici paced around the room, words dripping with venom. "Just because I settled down happily, you think you're better than me? You're just jealous that I've got somebody to lean back on!"

"Oh yeah! Joe-jack is a real Casanova! You only got with him because he knocked you up!" Kawari stood too, regaining a sense of anger she'd dropped off in twelfth grade. She stopped, her words struck a cord.

"…I don't even have to explain myself to you." Cici said flatly. "I don't know where you got this attitude woman, you're a slut just like me! What, tired of this life? Want to go and be a pop singer and live in a fairy tale? Hate to break it to ya hon, but you're stuck with this guy! LIVE WITH IT!"

"HE'S FUCKED IN THE HEAD CECILIA!" was her only rebuttal. And even Kawari knew she was lacking in debate.

"So are you." Cici said flatly. The two stared each other down bitterly for a few seconds. The thick silence was finally cut by a fit of snorting laughs. When they finally cooled down, gasping for air more stories started (for you see the mind of a drunk is quite a sporadic one. One minute it can be jolly, the next it's ready for a fight, but it all spins back into intoxicated happiness once more). "You ho." Cici punched her friend in the arm. "We haven't had a fight like that in years…You tryin to trip me up?"

"Pffft, with those heels? I'm surprise you walk like you do!" Kawari giggled, while the blonde now sitting next to her sputtered with laughter again.

"These are YOURS!" She cackled, falling on Kawari's shoulder. "I borrowed these from you in tenth grade!"

"And never gave them back!" Kawari finished her sentence. "I missed you ho-bag"

"And I missed you bitch" she laughed and hugged her friend. "God it's been too long…"

"Too long since our little slumber parties and beach trips huh…"

"OH YOU CANKNIVING BITCH!" Cici squawked with laughter again and elbowed Kawari. "You came KNOWING I'd let you stay over didn't you?"

"At least I knew you still loved me" Kawari shrugged with a wily grin.

"Smart ass" Cici got up and pointed with a sense of authority to the next room. "Taking advantage of me like that, go to my room!"

"Yes mom…" Kawari joked and laughed again as Cici thumped her with a pillow from the couch.

------------------------------------

Hisoka still lay where he fell for the seventh time, a giant scab so to speak holding his whole body to the carpet. As if to feel his pain, the sky bled soft moonlight over his body through the window. He never lost his grin, and soon a strange tune seemed to drift from his lips. A tune similar to that of a circus's twisted organ.

_So fra-il and_

_Wan sh-e seems_

_I turn to her_

_And off she flees_

_Run-ning, fly-ing_

_Fast as she can_

_Off she goes_

_My Pe-etto-chan…_

He chuckled, taking quite the liking to his new song, and since he wasn't about to get up any time soon, he continued.

_Her ey-es they_

_Bore into me_

_Mak-ing my stom-ach_

_Twist and scream_

_I'll soon have her blood_

_Upon my hands_

_Come back soon_

_My Pe-etto-chan…_

_So Mister, help me_

_If you can_

_Help me find my _

_Pe-etto-chan_

_End Capitulo _

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Hehehe, ambiguous enough for you?  
(sorry, that's my favorite word recently, it'll pass -.-I hope)  
pardonnez-moi, it came on a bit thick at some points -¿  
"Powerful Liturature"  
that's a nice way to say  
this-writer's-friggen-nuts-just-keep-smiling-and-don't-make-a-sound-their-sight-is-based-on-motion  
...hey o.o¿ ...where'd you go?

Read and review,I love you

insert corny pun commenting on the rhyme and writer's ignorance of said rhyme here


	5. Capitulo Cinco

Author's Note: With standard disclaimers and warnings aside, I've got to say Chapters 5 and 6 really make me want to break my keyboard every time I read them...  
(I've actually printed them out for the sheer angsty pleasure of ripping them up XD But that's just me...old bad writing makes me queasy)  
I'll let you guys decide

The Magician and the Fool: Capitulo Cinco

"'Bout time you got your sorry ass up" Cici smirked, watching Kawari slowly creep into the kitchen, rubbing her head.

"You were snoring just as bad as me so you shut up…" she groaned, taking a seat at the table.

"Oh my heart! She abuses me with words!" Cici clutched the side of her chest sarcastically "There's another killing in the paper today" she changed the subject and offered the newsprint

"Ugh…three in a row, you'd think the police around here would get wise to who it was _eventually_" she rubbed her eyes and griped.

"Ha, in this city? They drop like flies as it is. I think it's kinda nice that someone's thinning out the dread down here" Cici chuckled and read the title. "Finally some excitement"

"Yeah but one would think they'd start to see a pattern or something…" Kawari finally started to wake up and feel the hangover start to clang in her head like the ten-ton bells in a cathedral.

"You have becomean outsiderhaven't you?" she laughed and took her attention off the article, never getting past the first sentence "You expect way too much of our government rats…Say, you never said why you came back. To York Shin I mean, didn't you already have a client back in Nagasaki?"

"He died" Kawari said very plainly and got up to get some aspirin.

"Died? Yeesh, you _do_ get rough…"

"Nah" she laughed from the bathroom and gulped two pills "The Great and Powerful Oz took him in his sleep."

"Oh? Now Gabby-may, what have I told you about slipping people poisons?" Cici teased

"Never in the house…" she bowed her head apologetically "At any rate, the lazy bastard OD'd and checked out" Kawari put the kettle on and sat down.

"And you slipped away unnoticed?"

"Hell yeah. Got a little questioned, but there were pills still stuck in his throat when they found him. Said he went into convulsions and whatnot. Meanwhile I was still the nice little housewife and was out for groceries, so I even got a bit of insurance. God-forsaken bastard didn't even have any family."

"Well…that was convenient" Cici grinned wide at her wily friend. "You've been keeping something from me?"

"Nah-uh. All the truth. Sure as hell WAS convenient though" Kawari laughed "Finally I get some pay back for the bruises. Plus I got myself a nice little plane ticket"

"Yeah he was horrible, only saw him once or twice. But he spoke terrible to you even when I was right in the room. Knocked you to the floor with one whap." Cici put her hand on Kawari's shoulder to comfort her.

"Shouldn't speak ill of the dead, Satan rest his soul" she crossed herself with a wicked grin. The two laughed again. "The good news is I'm back home…"

"So that's why you're afraid to stick with Johnson right?" Cici's eyes softened, starting to understand.

Instead of breaking into sobs like she always did, Kawari's eyes were confused. "Johnson? Who the hell is Johnson? This guy's name is Hisoka"

"Hisoka? Hisoka what?" Cici blinked "Is that Johnson's first name? Sounds like a Japanese last name to me"

"Uh…I don't know" Kawari had a curious look about her. "The guy's a walking rubix cube, can't figure him out for shit. Have you met Johnson before?"

"Once, he's pretty sharp-looking with his hair greased back, thought you'd like him" Cici thought about the man she'd met "He was one hell of a sweetie, dumb as a friggen post though. Thick southern drawl right?"

"No…." Kawari's eyes widened "He doesn't talk much, and when he does it's confusing. He dresses like a clown and has a star and teardrop painted under his eyes. The only accent I picked up on is Japanese"

"HOLY SHIT! That's not Johnson!" Cici burst out of her chair. "Do you know what this means?"

"That I can get away from this weirdo?" Kawari stood with hopeful eyes.

"Well…that too…" Cici stopped to think, and then a determined anger filled her eyes again "It means this nut case has been mackin on you for FREE! Wait until I get my hands on that bastard…."

"We can beat the crap out of him later, right now I need to get this straightened out! Can you help me Ci? Please?" Kawari pleaded, getting her hopes up.

"Well…I can't do a thing for you." Cici sighed. "You gotta talk to the higher-up's. And I know you don't care much for Don" she said with a light chuckle

"The guy beat me over the head with a PVC, would _you_ like him?" Kawari sat back down cynically.

"You could always talk to Veto, we're his best girls" Cici batted her eyes and scribbled something down. "Did you ever get his address?"

"Nope, you know I never get the memos" Kawari sneered with growing angst. She looked at the napkin her friend presented with a smile and started to grin. "CECILIA I LOVE YOU!" she squealed and bounced, hugging the life out of the blonde.

"Now get the hell outta here and find your man!" Cici squealed with her and smacked her playfully on the butt as she left. "Don't be a stranger you bitch!"

"Same to you Ho-bag!" Kawari laughed and ran down the stairs with the napkin in her pocket.

--------------------------------------

"Uncle Veto! Long time no see!" Kawari's voice was cheerful as she burst in the door, though her eye was on the prize the whole time.

"Well if it isn't one of my favorite china dolls," a thick deep voice spoke from behind an oak desk. "You're back so soon, is everything all right?" His voice was kind, with a bit of an Italian twist.

Kawari shook her head "Veto, I have to talk with you about my client"

"We never go back you know." His voice became stern "You stay with your client until the end, or if something comes up"

"But something _has _come up Veto!" Kawari cried, stepping closer to the desk. "My client, he isn't Johnson!"

"I know." Veto said quite flatly

"What…?" her eyes were wide with shock, her voice a hoarse whisper. "What do you mean you know?"

"Take a look for yourself." He said grimly, tossing the day's newspaper to the opposite end of the desk. "Johnson is dead."

Her eyes quivered with what looked like horror, when in actuality it was merely disappointment. This Johnson fellow was her only way to get away from the strange clown. "B-but this can't be!" her eyes skimmed over the article and she shuddered.

**C**alm murder for once…

**O**ne man found dead in his apartment peacefully…

**M**ysterious in the very sense of…

**E**ven civilians suspect poison…

**F**inding the criminal will not…

**I**n only a few hours…

**N**o evidence as to the killer…

**D**og found whimpering next to body…

**M**atthew Johnson, a simple man…

**E**nigmatic.

"Take it easy, you didn't even know the man…" Veto stood, and tried to comfort the woman, noticing her sobs.

"It's not that…" her voice shook "This man I'm with now…h-he's crazy…" Kawari continued to mumble more to herself than to Veto. "He did this…He wants me to stay"

"Now, now girl! Don't go blaming honest people!" Veto scolded her and offered her a tissue. "Who is this man then?"

"Hisoka. That's all I know of his name" she blew her nose and spoke bitterly. "He dresses like a clown, with a star and teardrop under his eyes and—"

"Hisoka? Does he carry a deck of playing cards?" Veto's eyes were wide with attention.

"YOU KNOW THIS MAN?" Kawari spun back with even more surprise

"I know _of_ him" he looked at her with a pleased grin "Don't you go speaking of him like he's a monster, Gabrielle. He's a hunter like us, a very skilled one at that."

"I-I can't believe this!" Kawari backed away with anger starting to well up as well as fear.

"We've crossed paths only once, but even by that I can tell he's a highly respectable young man. And it would be in the company's best interest to keep such a powerful man under our watchful eye" Veto grinned and nodded his head. "So it's settled."

"What? What's settled! WHAT'S SETTLED VETO?" she rushed to his desk and slapped her hands on the surface.

"You're cuddling up to him quite nicely aren't you?" a thick chuckle rumbled in his double chin. "I think it wise to stay in your position, stay on his good side you know?"

"GOOD SIDE! Listen Veto, I've been with this guy for three days tops and I've YET to find a _good_ side!" she took her boss by the collar and shook him "Already I can see that he's a nut job you hear me? NUT JOB!"

"Which is exactly why you two are so suited." Veto laughed and nodded his head again, taking Kawari's hands from his shirt. "I just had this dry cleaned too…"

Kawari's eyes shrunk to grains of sand. "I can't believe this…" she muttered. "YOU ARE RENTING ME OUT TO A MURDERER VETO! HOW CAN YOU SIT BACK AND KNOW THAT I'LL BE ALL RIGHT!" she yelled suddenly, only to here another deep laugh getting up from the desk.

"Gabby, Gabby, Gabby, my girl!" Veto stood and held her face. "You are perfect for this! I couldn't have set it up better myself. You see? The gods have a plan" he stood next to her and smiled out the window.

"DON'T GET ALL PHILOSOPHICAL ON ME OLD MAN!" she screeched, this time more with annoyance. "Do you even CARE that I'm going to die?"

"Gabrielle, you are one of my best girls. I wouldn't let you go off on this if I wasn't absolutely sure of your abilities." He turned up her chin. "You did not get that license by running away you know."

"I did you geezer…"her dark eyes hitthe floor,starting to be backed into the proverbial corner. "It was a miracle…"

"And miracles happen every day" He smiled so warmly. That warmth that said to Kawari 'now-run-along-and-sleep-with-this-crazy-bastard-like-a-good-little-surveilance-camera'

He ushered her out quickly with a few more nicey-nice words. (which of course didn't mean shit to her and he knew it.) Kawari stared blankly at the opposite wall of the hallway outside of the previous room and sighed cynically, starting on the stairs. "I hate my job"

_End Capitulo _

-----------------------------

I'd really like reviews for these,  
please I can't tell what's writers' insecurity or completely bad content XD  
If you actually like it then you've made my day,  
If not then you'll find Tums and Pepto Bismol near the snack table on your way out, and please bear with me! These are old chapters --¿


	6. Capitulo Sieze

Silly silly silly...If you're into cute, the beginning is for you. Actually Hisoka's just using the higher easily-mistaken form of biting sarcasm XD  
I'lladmitI DID in fact color outside the lines abit on Hisoka's character  
:cue Attack of the HxH Fangirls I've ranted at about Hisoka's being out-of-character:

The disclaimer's evident, and judging by this chapter, do you think I'm suited to deal with Hisoka on a 24-hour basis?  
Now stop questioning my non-ownership of HunterxHunter and READ!

----------------------

The Magician and the Fool: Capitulo Seis

Having gotten her overnight bags, Kawari heaved a great sigh in front of That Door. Hisoka's door.

Without a knock. Without a fine Howdy-do, Kawariyasui Kawari swung the door open (actually a bit surprised that it wasn't locked) and marched dramatically in.

"UNCLE HISOOOKAAAA! I'M BAAAACK!" she proclaimed in a singsong voice, only to be countered with an equally silly welcome.

"AH! MY DEAR-AND-DARLING PETTO-CHAN HAS COME BACK TO ME! OH JOY OF JOYS THAT FILLS MY HEART THIS VERY MOMENT I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" He rushed to her and wrapped her in his arms tightly with such a sweet voice one would hardly think him to be Hisoka.

"Oh shuft ump you sharcashtik vastard!" she snarled, muffled by his chest. She tried to pry herself away, but only managed to get her head free. "Hisoka…" her eyes went flat and her voice was weary. "You're not wearing any clothes are you…?"

"Nah-ah" he grinned like a naughty child and hugged her tighter.

Kawari's knees went weak and her head fell back to his chest. _Why Veto…? WHYYYY! _Her eyes popped open and she got a bit of her life back as she sniffed him. Soap. And the room smelled wet…steam was billowing from the bathroom and the merciful gods and goddesses above had blessed him with a terry cloth savior.

Hisoka grinned with narrow eyes, watching her put it all together. He spun off with an effeminate voice and covered his chest. "OH Petto-chan! How COULD you!"

"...What?" she said flatly, now utterly confused.

He looked down and faked a blush like a frail girl and continued in a dramatic voice. "To sneak up on me like that while I was fresh from the shower! Oh you cad you…trying to see nak—"

"BASTARD! You set this up you know it!" She threw her smaller bag and struck him square in the back of his head. _Why me? Why him? _Her shoulders sank and she fell right onto the bed, already exhausted by the day's surprises and perils. She didn't sleep, only stayed there, afraid of what might jump out to get her if she raised her head. Who knows what this crazy man had in store.

The room quieted, centering around his amused chuckle. His footsteps padded away back to the tile and ruffling cloth was heard. The hairdryer clicked on for a while, then clicked off. Our Kawari was nearly about to drop off to sleep when another weight was added to the mattress. She groaned as she felt strong hands pull her up against his thankfully clothed body. "I missed you…" his voice rang softly in her ear.

"Shit liar…three days isn't enough to know nor miss someone" she grumbled and wormed away to the bedding. The same strong hands caught her hips and pulled her back against his chest.

"And yet you weren't surprised at my nudity" he snickered, lulling her into a sense of calm.

"I was…but I've spent all my shocks and screams today" she let her head lean back into the crook of his neck. "If I did have my zeal you'd be all bloodied up again…" a small smile crept over her lips. "I don't want to go turning you on again"

He held her tighter, taking a slow whiff of her perfume. "I did miss you…" their position and atmosphere was like that of a Casanova-style romance novel, his voice low and tender in her ear. "No one makes eggs like you do"

A wide grin pulled at her face and sputtered in a laugh. She ended up toppling out of his arms and back onto the bed, sprawling sideways over his crossed legs. "Woo, eggs…Very sexy" Kawari chuckled and giggled at the anti-climactic moment (personally glad that it happened this way).

Her smiled faded as she noticed he was prowling over her. His glare was dark and lustful, and he grew so close;Kawari flinched hard as he whispered "You came home in time to make dinner Petto-chan" and got off the bed, walking toward the kitchenette.

Kawari still lay there, eyes wide open now. She blew a sigh of relief, surprised a bit that it wasn't innuendo. "What would you like then…?" she got up and smiled tiredly.

"Eggi" grinned cutely, holding up his plate like a child. Kawari shook her head.

-------------------------------

"So tired and yet it's only eleven…" Hisoka commented between toothpaste on the weary girl leaving the bathroom.

"I haven't exactly had the most peaceful of days recently" Kawari growled and rummaged around in the linen closet. She came out with a bundle of sheets and a few pillows. Hisoka turned his head out of the bathroom and watched the little creature shimmy up the drain pole, climb up the armoire, and tie two ends of the sheet to different ceiling beams.

"Might I ask?" He chuckled with a bit of admiration.

"I may be staying here, but I don't trust my unconscious body with _you_" Kawari sneered tumbling into her perch. "Once I'm out, I'm _out_." she buried in the folds and found herself to blush at her sleeping patterns.

"That's good to know…" a wide grin flew over his face. Before Kawari even knew it he was next to her in her hammock.

"Uncle Hisoka…" she grit her teeth, feeling his arms snuggle up next to her.

"Yes Petto-chan?"

"Tell me if you will the whole point of my making a hammock?" her words continued to drip with venom

"Not having to sleep with me, Petto-chan" he started to chuckle.

"Ugh…" Kawari fell limp, too exhausted to fight him. _As long as he doesn't try anything…_ Kawari thought and curled into a tight ball despite his strong arms. "Go awayyyy….."

"Good night Petto-chan" he smiled

About a minute went by when the sleepy silence was broken. "Uncle Hisoka…?"

"Yes Petto-chan?"

"Stop calling me Petto-chan…" she yawned, loosing her annoyance in spite of herself

"Goodnight Petto-chan" he grinned, having his way.

_End Capitulo _

-----------------------

:cue the live-studio-audience AWWW:  
yes, very cute. Very young and sugary  
thankfully that's the last of it for a while  
I promise Chapter 7 will be lots of yummy fun  
Remember I love your reviews


	7. Capitulo Sete

Hehehehe...Now the fun really begins  
Yep-yep! The first Multi-sentence dialogue with our mysterious little murder  
Aren't you proud?  
And LOOK! An actual reference to a non-character subject in HunterxHunter! NEN! WOW!  
(as you can see, Sete is one of my favorite chapters)  
Fine fine, I'll be quiet...

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The Magician and the Fool: Capitulo Sete

Hazel eyes flicked open in the pitch dark. Hisoka sat up and jumped out of the hammock, landing artfully on his feet as usual. The clock glowed 12:47 in green on the table, but that wasn't the only thing. He opened the window, letting a cool breeze billow in. The magician shuddered, and not of cold. He could feel it, something big in the city. Nen, and a lot of it. "Our visitor sends a beacon…" he snickered to himself and licked his lips. The aura was muffled, pulling out his talent for Nen detection, as well as his interest. "What's that my little friend? You want me to come out and play…?" his grin deepened feeling the aura waft into the room and around his body like vapor. He climbed out onto the ledge of the building and put his arms out like a diver "Sa, iko."

The wind blew hard against him as he fell from the window. So hard that he lost his balance for only a moment, though that was long enough to falter his step. Hisoka hissed and rubbed his ankle, which had absorbed most of the blow. He heard a small giggle above him and looked around. Nothing. He frowned and tried to pick up the Nen once more. The frown deepened as he realized that the cloud was all around him in small concentration, the thickest aura in a small lump actually bouncing at high speeds all over the city. A maze. 1st street. 2nd street. Duncan Avenue. Moor Boulevard. Main Street. Weller Street. Turkey Lake. Von Christ Boulevard. 5th street and back again, appearing and reappearing erratically. He could hear a small laughter near him once more and then it was gone. He smirked and took his mark like a racerunner. "So…you want to play tag…ready…set…— "

"Go" another voice. Right behind his head. The one place to shoot a dog so he doesn't feel it. Hisoka had never heard her true voice before, but he knew it was his quarry. He still shot off like a rocket in the opposite direction. Usually in this scenario character A is behind character B, so B turns around to see character A, but character A leaves as soon as B turns around. In this case he knew she'd be gone, and she knew he knew. Strange that they had never met in person before and yet knew each other's next moves.

"Thank you my little visitor…I'm getting such exercise since you came" he grinned wide and showed his teeth to the blur of lights whizzing by him. He didn't even feel his feet touch the ground and soon lost track of what street he was on. In between leaps and bounds, he could feel her on the next street over, or not at all the next minute. It was like finding a rat with a needle in its mouth in a haystack, so close but it keeps moving. The clever magician had it all planned out in his head: she'd continue in her random disappearing and reappearing, but he'd keep going in a beeline. Eventually they would _have_ to meet. Not just by chance, but by necessity. She wouldn't have gone through all this trouble to send messages in the newspaper, feed her Nen maze all through the city, and exert such energy by flying around at random points all just to get him tired. Or would she?

"Pin pon" His curled shoes found the earth again. The city scenery seemed to thrust forward as he stopped abruptly. He breathed a little heavier to catch his breath, but in no manner that didn't already fit Hisoka. She had run him all the way down town, in some four-way cross section rendered useless by cracked tar and potholes. Some fractures of asphalt stood slanted as if a giant beast had fallen and destroyed the buildings around it. A single flickering light post stood on a stained street corner, offering what sporadic yellow light it could on the scene. And to complete the stage a tiny marionette sat, swinging her legs on the arm of the post. She was still dressed in her harlequin jumpsuit and ridiculous jumper. It was already of bright color, but the strobe beneath her only made it more striking. Her hair was still wild, but in the light he could tell it was a much bloodier red accompanying the brown. All in all she would have looked terribly cute, like a little china doll, if not for her unnatural pink eyes and cheshire grin. Those eyes were closed now, a blissful expression accompanied by a slight hum. They flicked open and focused on a deep-voiced "Good evening" from below.

She stayed silent. To a normal passer-by she would have seemed…a bit on the creepy side, for she held a pose for such a long time that she actually _did _look like a giant doll. Her eyes were simple, just studying the strange man beneath her. Finally her plaster-grin emitted a small sly "Good morning" to correct him.

"Ah. So it is" he snickered remembering he had left at 12:50am. "But the night is young"

The little doll nodded. One could tell her answers would be few and far between.

She kept silent on purpose. Hisoka frowned, realizing that she was just going to sit there smiling and pull speech out of him like teeth. He kept silent too and smiled back. Long games of quiet, a match of chicken so to speak, to see who would break and talk first. The girl had the upper hand unfortunately, for he wanted to find out more about his next victim. He grinned wider, he knew she wanted to know things about him just as badly, otherwise she wouldn't even be here.

_The sky bleeds tears of rain today, _

_what will we do? What will we do?_

_The sun sobs tears of strawberry ice cream, _

_for all the bad people, _

_and me and you _

She finally broke the silence with a child's song. A strange song of unknown origin and stumbling tune. It trailed off in a fluttering giggle and more wavering of her legs. He looked up expecting to meet with devilish pink eyes about to speak something vague, but instead he saw her still singing and swinging her legs completely lost in her own little world.

_The clown he comes to make you smile_

_instead he cries, behind his lies_

_The puppet girl she comes and goes_

_Clapping her hands, ripping the strands_

_The little riddle girl Nazonazo_

"And you are?" she punctuated her song suddenly with a sly voice.

Hisoka smirked. She knew almost exactly who he was, and he was certain this was no chance meeting. She had an interest in meeting him for one reason or another. All he had to do was find that reason out, find more about her, and eventually strike her down. "Hisoka"

"Hisoka?" she repeated him and hummed. "So ka? Hisoka. Aka na Hisoka. Akiraka na Hisoka. Akuma Hisoka" Her word-play followed a tripping beat. Another fluttering laugh, similar to that of hyena some might say. And her glaring reflective eyes didn't exactly improve her image. "Baka na Hisoka" she added quicker than her rhythm

"What is it with women and verbal abuse?" he pouted to her "Tell me…why is it you've come to bless this city with your presence, there's not much going on" Nazo had managed to pull another question out of him, sarcastic as it may be.

She chuckled again and looked down at him with now narrow eyes "I could ask you the same thing"

"Oh?" He grinned. "I had friends here, but they left me all alone with these horrid people" letting his voice shake to add a bit of irony.

"You have legs don't you?" she closed her eyes in a wise-ass cheshire grin. "Besides that nice little license is your ticket all over this hell-box"

"Done your homework I see" he chuckled, his eyes starting to darken underneath. "I suppose one has to know about her peers?"

"Nah-ah" she waved a finger "That's a secret" with a cute chuckle she took hold of the pole and fell backward, making a loop. "Can't tell them or I'll die"

Hisoka merely stared with a smirk, trying earnestly not to laugh at her little monkey tricks.

"They'll come in the night! They come, they kill, and they leave. In the midnight hour they scream more, more, more! I can't tell what's up or down, (you've got to figure that one out for yourself you see) or else they'll run me out of town! By means of a garden hose! It puts the lotion on itself or else it gets the hose again!" Nazonazo suddenly became much more talkative. Although it wasn't anymore useful; her mindless chatter came and went so quickly at such a high pitch. As she spoke she flipped off the pole, bending her knees like a dancer as she landed. With pirouettes and sporadic movements all in all the speech was quite confusing. A dramatic curtsy ended her speech with an answer to the previous conversation. "Looking for fun"

"A noble cause" Hisoka spoke low, never loosing his grin. "You seem to be stirring up quite a bit of your own" He licked his lips dripping with venom. Now that Nazo was at a normal talking distance to the magician, she looked much more like a normal young girl. A young woman maybe. In the light her hair shined a bright candy red, but the rest was a deep brown. Her face seemed to suit her; it was as strange as her getup. Stark white for starters, but a dash of blush added to her porcelain appearance. Over and around her left eye socket was a great orange splotch surrounded by little triangles. Smothering her right was a bright yellow star. Just to top it all off the right side of her nose was painted green. "I enjoyed my glass house" his eyes became darkened slits, a bit of lust seeping through his teeth as he talked.

She still kept an innocent grin and a sweet voice. "Thought you would" Now he could see it. Now he could see why her way-too-wide grin never moved much. Of course it was a mask, You knew it, I knew it, he knew it. But it was just a handkerchief tied around her jaw, obscuring her real mouth (if indeed she had one beneath). Not an elaborate kabuki mask, not a genetic horror, just a hankie with lines inside a crescent. "This is a nice city for fun" her eyes closed, and her mask did the rest.

"Maybe so, although I've never seen your methods in action" another sharp grin "Perhaps you would—" her eyes opened again and cut him off by swiftly jumping backward. A hop, skip and a jump back onto the light postl; she stayed silent looking up at the sky. "Hmn." He frowned a bit and looked after her. Nazo's back faced him but her head was cocked up to the stars, as if they begged her to stay (either that or she was just lost in the purdy sky). A few minutes past and he called after her "I like guessing games" knowing it would get her attention

And it did. Nazonazo still stood on the pole's arm, but looked over her shoulder "Don't we all?"

"You sweep up after everything don't you?" a wide and wily grin flew over his lips, bringing the conversation back to her style of murder. Her attitude threw the magician off a bit, for he thought her to be very proud of her style, and not so blunt. One might daresay when he mentioned it she stopped short…embarrassed maybe? And why?

The girl didn't turn away, but didn't face him either. She merely looked to her side at the ground and took something from the ruffles in her skirt. "Even wipe the fingerprints off the Clorox bottle" she held up a spray bottle of cleaning agent, making reference to the age-old mistake a burglar makes by cleaning his fingerprints from everything but said cleaning product. Nazonazo gave him one last wild grinning glance and leapt from the post, bounding and running off into the dark.

Hisoka merely stared after her with a toothy grin ripping at the sides of his mouth. A rumbling chuckle flew from his throat and cut through the now quiet street. The hollow plonk of a something plastic hitting the asphalt woke him from his murderous daze. He looked up and saw something white on the sidewalk. The magician slowly sauntered over to the walk under the still-flickering light post and picked it up. It really was a surface cleaner, but the label said 409. "She lied" he looked it over and nit-picked at the fact that she has said Clorox earlier. He pocketed the object, knowing it would come in handy later and started on the long walk home. This part of town was actually fairly enjoyable…the streets were absolutely empty and the buildings were old and broken. He looked up at the sky, and straight ahead, lost in thought as usual. The silly magician looked up very high at the moon and stretched with his hands folded behind his head

_I wonder what else she keeps up that skirt?_

_End Capitulo _

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Naughty Hisoka!

Also the confusing text when Nazo repeats Hisoka's name is my own form of Japanese word play XD  
Japanese Mini-lesson!  
"So ka" is the japanese equivalent to "Really?" or "Is that right?"  
Aka na - "red"  
Akiraka na - "obvious difference"  
Akuma - demon  
I think you guys can figure out what Baka na is xD

(really this is just the result of me thumbing through my Japanese dictionary at three in the morning xD but it rhymes)

Also "Sa iko" translates to "Let's go"

Hehehe also 50pts to whoever can quote what Nazo's talking about when she's coming off of the lightpost. (random quotes from movies and songs, but it's funny to see which)


	8. Capitulo Oito

Author's note: For those who are annoyed by sugary randomness, I apologise for Kawari's sleeptalk ¿ Personally I think it's cute; just a bunch of nonsense...or is it? o,O¿  
(hehehe for those with common sense, I'll let you answer that on your own)  
also uhm... ¿9.9 Hisoka has a little too much fun with the riddle...  
Nothing too horrible, it just comes off as a bit TOO creepy xx¿  
(soemtimes I wonder if I push him too far T,T¿)  
but you still love me right?

Disclaimer: Come on with my funds?  
:moth flies out of her wallet:  
IfIcan't buy the rights to HunterxHunter, what makes you thinkI OWN it?

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The Magician and the Fool: Capitulo Oito

2:36am glowed green on the nightstand when he slipped in the door. Their meeting in actuality only cost him about an hour, but he had walked leisurely back to the apartment. The room was deathly quiet; save a soft rhythmic breathing still bundled in the makeshift hammock. Hisoka eased the door shut behind him with a click and yawned. "Cute strategy Nazo-chan…but it takes much more that a few all-nighters to bring me down" he chuckled in a daze to himself and slid his shirt off. He kicked off his shoes next to the cloth and scratched his head until the gel loosened up. Finding his way back into the sheet the magician tried to simulate his position beforehand, as if to hide that he'd ever left.

"Nnngh….Hisoka…? What the hell are you doing up…?" Kawari turned her head groggily, noticing the warmth next to her again "…you're late…the tea party already started…an' the tanuki ate your sweet cake though…I forgot…." She yawned still wandering in her own dream. "If you like butterscotch though…you can go to…switzerville…that's right…that's what they call it…the mice, they do."

Hisoka snickered at her sleep talk, she wasn't conscious at all. He felt his eyes get heavy as he settled down and thought about what transpired. "Night-night Nazo-chan…you live to sleep tonight" his voice trailed off into Kawari's neck. Soon the magician drifted off to sleep there, lying in bed, with sweet dreams of murder-plumbs dancing in his head.

"Night-night Magician…" Kawari yawned.

------------------------

"DID IT EVER OCCUR TO YOU THAT MAYBE LIVING THINGS HAVE TO EAT!" the blow of an empty box to his head woke him. "No wonder you're so pale are you anorexi—AAIII!" she stopped short, silenced by the hands of several thudding sounds similar to that of knives sticking into the wall.

"You have such a habit of waking me so rudely…" Hisoka groaned and rubbed his eyes.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!" Kawari continued, not at all pleased with her new position.

"Oh so you are alive?" Hisoka chuckled and got up from the bed. "Half asleep, my aim is a little sloppy" he smiled to the annoyed girl, cards nailing her to the wall by cutting through her loose clothing.

"LET ME GO YOU BASTARD!" Kawari squirmed vainly to get free from the overall-humiliating situation (considering her feet didn't even touch the ground). Even she knew how smug he was becoming at her disposition.

"Tsk tsk, she abuses me with words…" he whined, a devilish grin curling over his lips. "Mmmmn…why should I? You can't move can you? Pinned up like a crayon drawing…why, I could just have you all to myself now couldn't I?" he whispered low, although he had such a teasing playfulness in his voice.

She flinched as his hands moved along her waist, trying to pull away from the cards. He only grew closer, sharp narrow eyes cutting into hers with such darkness. "…YOU JUST TRY THAT AND YOU'RE GOING TO BE LUCKY IF THEY FIND ENOUGH OF YOU TO PUT IN A PLASTIC BAG!" she barked. And as if by magic, the cards that held her fell from the wall, fluttering to the floor like ordinary paper. Kawari marveled at the event for a moment with wide eyes, then gave Hisoka a fierce smack across the face. "Now if you don't MIND…I am going grocery shopping!" she panted, drawing back to her original point and strutted toward the door in a huff.

Hisoka straightened up after the blow, his ivory skin a faint pink from her hand. That grin had never left his face, but now it was lighter and childlike. "Can I come too honey?" he chuckled sweetly, loving how much he could make her blush.

"JUST WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK!" Kawari roared and answered him with a window-shaking slam of the door.

Hisoka continued to chuckle to himself and put his mind back on that bottle. He pulled it out from under the bed and examined it. Never taking his eyes from the object, he set it down on the coffee table and sat on the couch opposite. It looked the same as the night before: your average spray-bottle of 409, a surface cleaner, about ten inches tall and three or so wide, same size as the rest; so what was the message? It had no markings that the eye could see; no cuts or twists in the plastic. Just a colorful label promising to kill some menial percentage of germs. He looked the bottle over and over, reading its ingredients, instructions, cautions and any other text that might serve as a clue.

"Nazo-chan…" he growled, a strange way of showing frustration, and got up from the couch. Killing her would be a very sweet treat after this. Not that this was particularly brain teasing, just tedious and nit-picky (although the clown had no reason to become so tense, he'd only been sitting for about seven minutes). Hisoka came back with a pen and notepad, setting it on the table next to the bottle, but he himself still stared it down as if it would somehow rear up and devour the materials. Sharp hazel eyes circled it again and again; why was it so hard for two weirdoes to have similar thought process? And why was he becoming so antsy? Hisoka was the master of the waiting game, he usually sat or held one pose for hours on end, so why were these minutes annoying? He just needed something to start on, anything. He could easily predict her plans if he knew where they started. He'd been able to know an enemy's moves before they even made them; hers were just more…sporadic.

ADD or no, _something_ should be out of the ordinary. But that was just it: everything was ordinary. Was that the message? See through the mundane? That what you're looking for is right under your nose? No. That was much too easy. He sat down and reviewed what was said the night before. He had spoken with her, and her responses were quite strange, seeming to make no sense. But isn't it the wisest to say foolish things? Deeper meanings. Everything had a deeper meaning, and Hisoka could often see that. But what was deep about a window cleaner! It had fit well in their joke, that she paid scrupulous attention to detail and covered her tracks in murder, but she wouldn't have left it if she didn't mean for something else to be said. Why? Why cleaning products? Perhaps to cleanse? To purge of sin? And why this brand specifically? Why 409? 409. That was it.

"Pin Pon" a long-awaited grin curled over his lips as he looked at the purple numbers. It was so simple, plain as day. Many clues had numbers in them, perhaps solved by means of equations. Although she really didn't seem like the type to obsess with math. No. Based on things up till now her patterns seemed simple to the naked eye, but if one dug deep enough it all made sense. Either way, simple was the way to go. Hisoka scribbled down on the paper, adding the digits together, matching them to the English and Japanese alphabet: 13, D and I, e and ke respectively. He furrowed his eyebrows, altogether it didn't make much sense, but it would. He would make it make sense.

Thirteen was an unlucky number. D and I could change into ID card or put together it sounded out "die" which could mean both deceased, or a pair of dice, or even pair in general. E could mean several things: a handle or a shaft of something, or a painting. It could even serve as the prepositions: to, for, on, and in. And ke could just as easily mean a strand of hair, a sign or indication, or the ending to a family name. Hisoka played it out in his head with an annoyed look: The Ke family died because each member had a pair of hairs that saw a bad painting of dead dice and burnt their hand on a pan-shaft ID #13...A wild scribble followed a low growl again. He was thinking too hard.

It had to be simple, or at least start out that way. The way had to be straight too, he was considering all of his options when he should just find one that sticks out the most and pick details from the rest. Let's try again: Four oh Nine. "Foro nain" he repeated back to the voice in his head, teasing it by straining a western accent. Wait. Foro nain. Follow nine. That was a pretty good lead.

---------------------------

"So what are we going to do?" Cici sat on the edge of the large oak desk and looked the same article over and over, as if the words would change back to normal and things would be okay.

"The only thing we can do…just let her sit well with this man and see where it takes us" Veto nodded, not as cheery as before.

"You know you're just sending her blind into this…" Cici swatted the newspaper down on the desk with a glare. "Just like last time"

"Don arranged that and you know it" Veto retorted, starting to grow a little hostile himself. The last agreement hadn't ended on such lovely terms.

"But you oversaw it…there was easily something you could have done to stop it!" Cici turned to face him from across the desk and snarled.

"It's in the past I can't do anything about it now. And he's dead… Why do you care?" Veto returned, not so much the kind old man as before. "Let it be…just let things take their course…" he rubbed his forehead in frustration.

"EXCUSE ME?" Cici didn't even give the man time to react. "This is GABRIELLE we're talking about old man! Not just some cheap floozy…You said yourself we were like daughters to you! So how can you make her run the gauntlet twice! HOW CAN YOU?" she grabbed him by the collar and shook him, tears starting to stream down her face.

"Cecilia don't be hysteric!" he took her hands from his collar and held them. "Gabrielle is very dear to me, as are you. But that is no reason to keep you polished and prim on a feathered pillow! I would not send her to continue this if I were not confident in her abilities." He reasoned with Cici, always with a hard stare. The same stare both Gabby and Cici had grown to know and grown to know what's behind that stare: concern. "Should something of ill-intent occur, Gabrielle could fight him off or find other methods. Until then I want to keep an eye on this man, so that when he comes we'll be prepared"

"What do you mean…_when_ he comes?" Cecilia backed up, already knowing the answer.

"Hunters seek out other hunters…that is the way of this world" he sat back down and bowed his head. "He'll come to kill us all someday…it's just a question of when and if Gabrielle can delay him"

"I knew since I met that chick she'd become a martyr…" She faced the ground with a light shaken laugh "either because she was a drama queen on her own accord, or because she wants to please people to a fault." Cecilia fell into one of the leather chairs in front of the desk holding her brow in her hand. "…I just don't want to loose her"

--------------------------------

The notepad was covered in notes and scribbles. Pieces of paper had been crumpled and torn and thrown all about the place. Bed sheets were ripped from the mattress and balled up in a corner on the floor. Several blue cards stuck in the wall like knives, and there stood the bottle in perfect peace, perfectly set in its perfect place for perfect examination. Against the wall leaned a quivering magician; his eyes wide, his lips moving without speech mumbling incoherent things about god knows what. His hands grasped the wall as if he would be torn away from it so easily; His body was bruised in some places and even some places bleeding. "Such a riddle…Aaahhhhn…" His voice shook and rasped as he said, his eyes focused at neither the floor nor the wall. A thick bash sounded against the wall. "Such a test …Ohhhh…" Again he rammed his head into the wall, all the while that wicked grin never left his lips. "It makes me hurt…oh yes…hurts so bad…" He continued to gasp into the wall, slamming his head hard against it once more. "And when we…ohhh…when we shall fight YES! It will be delicious…" another thump against the wall and a horrible laugh.

_Now these were the times in which we wondered how exactly this man has managed to stay alive? It seemed he took terrible pleasure in terrible pain, and in this instance, he had racked his brain to find near fifty ways to solve this puzzle. However none fit the bill…at least none in his eyes. It's times like this we also ask ourselves, why is he the way that he is? Did something so horrible and mind-numbing happen in his past that could turn a sane man's world completely topsy-turvy? And is he truly so strange? Or is it all just an act to cover something else up? It's a very elaborate act if so, but then again, Hisoka does indeed take everything in deep thought and scrupulously planned dramatics does he not? Either way I'm afraid we shall never know the truth unless he walks up to us one fine morning and decides to confess, no? For those readers who indeed fancy such a meeting, I'll not stop your dreams. But do heed my word: it is not so of Hisoka to say such things so openly. _

_Or perhaps that's what he wants? The cunning magician's always out to confuse and surprise people; he simply thrives on the unexpected. So wouldn't he one day, take a gullible soul round the park and fabricate such an intricate lie that could be possible to explain everything? Perhaps that would sate said soul, and perhaps not. Whether or not any of this occurs, one thing is still on our minds: Just how screwed up is this guy? You've seen already that he would be just dandy to lay in a bed of broken glass, and much before that he would take such pleasure in watching over his Apple. Fighting with Gon and waiting for him to grow; hunting down Kuroro; everything caused him such time, effort and pain! But then…those were the times he was most impassioned. Which brings to mind a question: Is Hisoka merely an over zealous masochist? Or does he really mix the lines of pain and lust, of power and happiness, of murder and pleasure, of satisfaction and self-destruction? It seems so at the moment…based on the way he smiles when he bleeds, on his moans and the way his voice shakes, on the way his body tremors to control itself, on that crazed look in his crystalline eyes._

The crashes gained a rhythm. His grin only widened. He mumbled at first but soon his voice rang out, bashing back at him from the walls.

"Yes…" Crash. "That's the way…"

"That kind of thinking…" Crash.

"Foronain" Crash. "Net"

"Tarantula" Crash. "Aluminum"

"Mint" Crash. "Tower"

"Ringo" Crash. "Operation"

"Ninja" Crash. "Art"

"train…" At last he stopped. Pin-pon.

_End Capitulo _

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Aha, now the OCD comes into play!  
This is just the beginning of an extremely annoying series of linked thoughts to solve the riddle, all caused by a cleaning product XD  
(simple things come from simple minds)  
The head-crashing-into-the-wall thing is actually (well, my best try at) a Japanese word game,  
you know, the one where you start with one word, and then make another word beginning with the last letter of the last word and so on?

Yeah...If you're confused now, you might want to skip until Hisoka gets to the train station, it gets VERY anal -¿ ehe

Review please!


	9. Capitulo Nove

Once again I say thank you for your reviews and interest - I'm a bit worried about those taking Hisoka's kind of interest o.O  
:cough cough lunartick cough:  
Also I want to give big thanks to shadow-wind auror for correcting my mistake on the word game xD

You really must be a distrusting person to ignore all eight of my previous disclaimers...:sniff:  
I thought what we had was special :tear:

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The Magician and the Fool: Capitulo Nove

_Was it really so simple? Just a children's word game…Shiritori...of course. Upon their first meeting Nazonazo had always been humming a silly tune or the like. It was pretty straightforward in its rules: Player A says a word, then Player B says a word that begins with the last letter of the word before it. The players go back and forth until one-player runs out of words or hesitates too long. In this case, Hisoka stopped to catch his breath on Train. So that was where it ended. _

Heavy breaths steadied as he wiped his face. The magician straightened up and sat back down on the couch with only a taste of victory on his tongue. "It's not over, is it Nazo-chan? No…it's too much fun for it to be over, you know that." He wrote down the ten words and read them through trying to find a sequence. "Young at heart" he smiled, arranging the words in alphabetical order. Now what pattern was it?

**Aluminum, Art, Mint, Net, Ninja, Operation, Ringo, Tarantula, Tower, Train.**

Still feeling playful, Hisoka wrote out the words in a circle in the order that they originally came to him, and drew a line connecting each, starting with Aluminum. Aluminum drew across to art, which went across to mint. Net went to the side to ninja, and so on. All this gave Hisoka was a lopsided unfinished polygon. Apparently life was not all fun and games.

_**Aluminum**, what had to do with aluminum? A lightweight metal, pliable, used in the manufacture of transport vehicles…like trains—rather—monorails. Nazomeita's first attack on the city was on one of the monorails. Come to think of it, the second attack was on the city's glass **art** museum. **Mint** could have easily been either a breath-freshener or a large sum of money. In comparison to the other words, money was the object. Was she hunting a bounty on his head? Now, now children calm yourselves, the story's not over…_

_**Net** used in this case would be a network, most likely of connections in murder or with the press for that matter (in accordance to thearticles). **Ninja** had been renowned assassins for centuries, their methods were clean-cut and always thought out. Was she a ninja? Certainly an unorthodox one…No no, there was a deeper meaning than that. Her style of murder thus-far still remained a mystery to the magician, perhaps that was it. Swift, mysterious and constantly allusive, it was a reference. One Hisoka would keep in his pocket with a grin. Any organized group worked in **operations**, ninja or otherwise. This flagged a hint that she was not alone. Was she merely a windup doll to draw him out to a higher enemy? _

Hisoka's eyes widened as only one name sprang up in his mind: "Kuroro" this was one of the few times when there was absolutely nothing in his voice. Nothing but air. Hisoka had let him live, taken aback that after all his trouble, Dansho would not fight him. Purely for the tickle in the pit of his stomach whenever he thought of Kuroro. That they might play again. But was it really so soon before round two began? The magician shook his head with a strange look in his eye, trying to clear his head and focus what was at hand.

It was Nazo…only Nazo. No one else it was just her. Just a silly little girl. Nothing more. She seemed too incompetent to be working under anyone anyway. Kuroro was long gone, pursuing his own goals and possibly trying to pursue a normal life. All of these were lies, uncertain either way. But he was getting distracted. He needed to focus on this. "Nazo-chan…" he growled and thrust his fist into the table, a devilish grin of composure claimed his face once more. "You slip these in to throw me off…how cruel" he snickered looking at the next word. And…if only for a few seconds, did the magician loose his composure once more.

**Ringo.**

Apple. But used inHisoka's contextit only meant one thing: Gon. What connection did she have to Gon? Was she working for him? An honest laugh of disbelief soothed the clown's taught stomach. "My little Riddlegirl is closer to me than I know…" he snickered, internally disturbed at this fact. Even if she had been under his nose, he'd never mentioned Gon to anyone, let alone his pet name. "Nazo-chan did her homework…" It was not unexpected for one hunter to do research on its prey, especially with access to the hunter website and other crucial details.

**Tarantula **came next. A type of spider of course, it seemed Nazo did do a bit of research. However, if it truly meant Spider, it would have said so straight out. A tarantula is a robust spider, so did she mean one of the more burly members of the group? Or even the leader…No it was just a ploy to throw Hisoka off. And it worked. It wasn't the thought of Kuroro this time, it was the fact that this Nazo-girl knew enough about him psychologically to know what would confuse him. "Don't think you have won…" Hisoka bit his lip into a smirk, aching for control once more. No, it was not logically sound…there was no trace of her in his personal life, or in his head whatsoever. He'd never revealed anything to anyone he couldn't afford to have it thrown back at him. And certainly no website would have anything so in depth such as this. "Such a puzzle"

_Out of nowhere: **Tower. **Hisoka had come to expect zigzag logic coming from her, and after the most recent thought process it nearly had nothing to do with what came before. Perfect in her plan. Usually one would be disoriented by such a change in subject, but it made sense coming from her. Even in the way she acted in their few meetings, her talk would be so profound and mind blowing, and right after would be mindless chatter. But this was no chatter: this was a location.Which tower though? This city was riddled with high-rises and company buildings. _

_Narrow hazel eyes flicked over the word list. Each word thus far had been used in accordance to another word except for mint. It would make sense that a company tower would be associated with a large sum of money, perhaps the richest corporate building in York Shin? The clown remembered sitting at that little café and looking up at the buildings looming over. Which one was the biggest, most successful tower that people actually lived in this city for? Hisoka leaned back and held his head, it was some strange name dancing on the tip of his tongue, one constantly in the newspapers and in people's conversations…And with the hideous amount of people in the city, how could he forget? _

Attentionless hazel eyes dully scanned the room. It was still in disarray from his previous…findings. The kitchenette lay untouched. Yet something was amiss. There was a small booklet on the counter, one Hisoka had never noticed. Drawn to it like a moth to a flame it was actually a map of the city, folded back to show only the immediate area. "Petto-chan…. Just what are you hiding from me?" he grinned realizing who's map it was (as if the gaudy pink office clip with a plastic character on it didn't tell anything). Kawariyasui didn't carry anything when she first came home with Hisoka, this would imply that she was new to the city, but then disappeared for a few days, returning with her things. Meaning she did have others of some form to turn to.

He scanned the map, finding little pen marks and small illegible notes in certain areas, following the roads leading to a scribbled circle around the apartment building they currently resided in. He found the café, even tracing the roads as far as where he met Nazonazo in person. And there it was. In the very center of the city: Citeneg Tower. The magician cringed, how could he forget something so obvious? Nonetheless that was certainly it. But the strange part was…what about the **Train**? The train came last, maybe that was the actual meeting place. Or was he supposed to take the train to the tower? No that worked backwards…and plus, Citeneg's address on the map was 9121. The very first clue was Follow Nine.

Bored with this obsessive detail, the magician pocketed the map and went to the bathroom to wash his face. He'd nearly forgotten the running cuts and bruises from his thought process. Looking back up at his reflection, an even more 'crucial' problem arose:

"_What should I wear?" _

_End Capitulo _

------------------------- 

hehehe high priorities eh Mr. Magician? 

Well what do you think of the thought process hmn?  
could you follow it? o.o  
Good because there will not be another lecture:tosses teacher hat:  
Study your textbooks! XD 

Hehehe...and ooh lookie, Hisoka's almost in a fuss! How can that be achieved?  
:builds suspense out of paper maché: 


	10. Capitulo Dez

Author's note: I'm terribly sorry about the wait, even though this chapter is pre-written, I've been taking a little time off to do some more HxH research...(You see I've yet to see all of the Greed Island eppisodes) But my computer secretly has a vendetta against me, and so I don't think I'll be seeing these eppisodes in time to finish this story, much less keep your attention -.-¿

For those who are absolutely repulsed by people-who-write-fanfictions-without-seeing-the-WHOLE-entire-series-including-all-17,000-eppisodes-15-OVAs-not-to-mention-7-OAVs-and-all-their-family-from-Yugesuella, then I sincerely apologise to each of you.  
(Yes Yugesuella; it's lovely in the spring, and they have marvelous cashews)

But don't fret, I HAVE seen the bulk of the series and the first OVA  
(I really don't understand the concept of OVAs and OAVs ¿ that's very sad now isn't it?)  
So I'm going to continue writing without Greed Island's influence x.X¿ my apologies in advance.

Disclaimer: The above paragraphs could be a big hint that I don't have much ownership of the series...

----------------------------------------

The Magician and the Fool: Capitulo Dez

_Citeneg Company Tower, the epicenter of the city's economy and all things business. 'Even if you don't know Citeneg, you know Citeneg' they said. It was the tallest building, the summit of York Shin and the single black hole sucking every life it can to feed the city. 'Once you go in, there's no going out, they own you' they said. _

_Yes, that Citeneg. There's no business like it. The marketing leader of turning humans into time-efficient non-confrontational non-opinionated high percentile output workers. The suits with no light in their eyes. no breath in their mouths. no blood in their veins._

Hisoka straightened is tie and grinned "Undercover?" He entered one of the revolving doors and walked casually in the huge marble-coated entryway. The really sad part was—he got through.

Is security so dull? Lulled into a state of calm by the very notion that they are the highest power in this city? Apparently so, either that or they had just become so jaded they really didn't care about life anymore. Ah ignorance.

Hisoka's reflection in the wall dissected in two as the elevator opened. A shrill voice broke out through the main hall, clomping feet running

HOLD THE ELEVATOR!

Hisoka held a hand over the door as the boys sped in. The clown in his suit merely took his post on the other side and watched the smaller ones pant.

"Thank you so much ojisan! This place is so big…" The spiky haired boy wiped his brow and smiled that simple wide grin.

The one with white hair smacked him upside the head "Hey! Don't smile so calmly…" he rolled his eyes, though he knew all too well that his friend never knew a stranger.

"Ack! Itai…Killu--!" the brown-haired boy was stopped by the clap of the other's hand over his mouth.

"_GON! I told you we shouldn't say our names too loudly_…" killua hissed to his friend.

_Oh is it really you Gon? And little brother Killua too…_Both faces lit up in Hisoka's memory, unchanged by time. It had been a while since their tangle in York Shin last time, but not so long that they _should_ age drastically.

"What floor are you two?" Hisoka tried his best to keep both his voice and face straight.

"G-gon…look up…" Killua's face was stark white. He'd been staring dully at the mirrored doors in front of him, but now he saw that familiar smirk in the reflection. "The top one…this one" Gon mumbled half to himself and reached for the button, and as he did the red-haired man's hand clasped over his and slid it down over the panel. Lighting up all the circles.

"Oh my, look how clumsy…"

"WH-HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING—HISOKA?" his eyes flicked up at the sneering man and soon he was against the other wall.

"3.75 minutes response time…tsk tsk have you really forgotten me so easily Gon-chan?" he smiled out of the corner of his eye.

"Get away! I want out of here! GET ME OUT!" the poor boy pleaded the plated box of a vehicle, his short fingers clawing at the separation in the panels

"Damnit! YOU FOLLOWED US HERE!" Killua snarled and drove a hard punch into Hisoka's side, and quite surprisingly, the magician only bent to his fist's influence. "Wh…why aren't you blocking?" he shouted angrily.

"Because I'm not fighting," Dull hazel eyes watched the green numbers above the button panel increase slowly 18…19…20. "Besides, wouldn't it be terribly uncomfortable to do it in such a small space?" he chuckled with such narrow eyes that one would think he just cracked a perverted joke.

Killua stood up straight and joined Gon at the other side of the elevator, both pairs of eyes glaring at his smiling pair. "You bought yourself some time…what do you want?" Killua crossed his arms and settled against the wall.

Hisoka smiled and shrugged teasingly. The small space seemed smaller with their eyes falling so harshly against him. "…34…35…36" he looked back at the numbers and chuckled.

"You were sent to stall us!" Gon cried, only answered by another laugh and a toss of his head

"Stall you…from what? Life's too short to be in such a hurry…and it _can_ be shorter" he licked his lips and reached in his coat pocket.

Gon and Killua glared tensely, preparing themselves for a fight. Their so-called assailant merely laughed and pulled out a blue bicycle deck.

"I have said, it is too cramped a space in here…very unsuited for what I have in store for you" He smiled sweetly (this of course not easing their fear) and shuffled the deck. "Besides…it is too soon"

"Too soon…" Gon repeated. His wide dark eyes staring in wondering thought. He knew Hisoka wanted to fight him one day, but the way he acted when he spoke about it…it made Gon shiver.

"Be at ease today," Hisoka said at last. At least forty floors had blinked past before then. "Even if I were to give in to temptation I could not…" he snickered flipping a card between his fingers and looking at its face before placing it back in the deck. "I am preoccupied"

"Oh, so Hisoka has a girlfriend?" since said clown was acting so lightly, Killua took a playful stab at him. "Didn't think he was interested in that kind of thing" he laughed, though Gon didn't get it at all.

The magician frowned, but soon his lips were up in a smile once more, snickering as they did. "Who are you to dig into my personal life?" he bounced back with another question.

At this, both Gon and Killua looked at each other genuinely "Hisoka has a personal life…?"

Needless to say…silence choked the elevator once more.

Piin. The top floor was finally reached after an agonizing silent remainder of the way. The two boys bolted out, happy to get as far as they could from the sulky suit. The plane was very wide for a rooftop, and what a view! Nearly everything Yorkshin had to offer could be seen from this vista, at the expense of one's well kept hair of course.

The two looked around searching for something and took to the far corner next to the small elevator building. Meanwhile Hisoka took the opposite side, looking out onto the city. Hawk's eyes bore hazel that day as he scanned the grid-lined streets and tall buildings. Darting randomly from block to block, searching for anything matching his quarry. It was times like this he would smile and think of his opponent, maybe thank them for giving him such a challenge…but right now he felt damn annoyed.

"Nazo-chan….you make me frustrated" he growled to himself, smirking this time. "You'd better stop soon…If I kill you while I'm angry, it will ruin our fun you know…No…no don't stop" his grin widened as he closed his eyes. It was as if Nazonazo herself were standing next to him smiling, linking her arm in his and smoothing his sleeve with her tiny gloved hands. The wind whistled over the rooftops, in reality only the two boys and him were there. But that whistling sang against his ears like he expected her to, comforting him and holding his arm tighter _Relax Magician…just clear your head and slow down…_ She would say. _Don't even think about it…just listen to the wind, it's such a nice day, just smile _she would say, such an innocent voice at his side…even if she wasn't really there it…it made him feel calm again. Then as quickly as she came the imaginary warmth was gone, she seemed to be a distance from him, just tugging at his sleeve _Just think…what is it you're looking for? Hisoka…hey Hisoka are you listening…Hisoka?_

"Hisoka? Ne, ne! Are you listening?" Gon furrowed his stubborn brow and tried to snap the clown out of his daze "You've been staring at the same place for half an hour, what are you looking for?"

Had the time really gone by so quickly? Hisoka looked back to see Killua lying out on the concrete with a notepad and pencil, scribbling furiously and looking back and forth at some mysterious writing on the ground. "Hm? Ah…just enjoying the view" he tried to gather his thoughts, for once actually disoriented.

Gon crossed his arms, not taking that kind of answer from the magician at all. There was no way in hell that his enemy would actually be staring blankly without plotting! Large brown eyes stared up focused at Hisoka's. Why was he acting so weird? Well…weirder than usual

"A train…" He put his hands on the thick concrete railing once more, searching the same stretch of city again. There were dozens of train stations all over, mostly subway and monorail. Since she wasn't in the tower, then the actual meeting place would be a train station. But why have him come to Citeneg in the first place?

"A train?" Gon blinked, and repeated him. Even though Hisoka was his enemy, and despite he really scared the hell out of Gon sometimes, Gon was still Gon. And it really wasn't often he saw Hisoka even remotely strung out. "You can see everything from here, aren't train tracks really simple to find in a city?"

Hisoka's eyes widened. Of course they would stick out. Of course it was so simple, so simple a child could see it when he couldn't. _Gon_. The magician fished a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket, the one he'd written the notes on. Gon's eyes locked on the word-circle and the lines in it

"Atta! I've seen that, it's that way!" Gon shouted excitedly, and for a moment even forgot that he had anything against Hisoka. The spiky brown-haired boy dragged the magician by his sleeve to another corner of the rooftop and pointed to an oddly shaped brown building, low to the ground with several straight lines coming out of it. Train tracks. Hisoka looked back and forth between the paper and the location, and sure enough…they were the same shape.

Hisoka was actually dumbfounded. How could she base everything on a whim? So simple and so complex? And all of this trouble…it just made the clown more hungry to kill her. All in due time of course, like a thief admires a famous painting before burning it. Regaining composure, Hisoka shot the sweetest smile to his little tour guide, which of course reminded Gon of how insanely creepy the red-haired man could be. Hisoka leaned in close and stared into his wide brown eyes now full of fear, planted a dangerous hand on top of hisspikey brown hair and ruffled it, offering only this poetry before leaving a shaken Gon for the elevator

"_San Kyu"_

_End Capitulo_

---------------------------

LOOK LOOK!  
ACTUAL cameos from OTHER characters from HunterxHunter!  
It's so rare!  
(It's true...I've been dreadful about other characters -.-¿ I'm not promising much, but there will be more -)

But still...I'll admit I colored outside the lines on Gon's character in the fact that he was cheery around Hisoka -.-¿ I just adore his pure appraoch to life and everyone...I'll admit my weakness on that

Sadly things in the outside world are getting more and more complicated,  
Standardized tests and midterms are ruling the day, and I'm trying to plan a trip to Daytona on my birthday soon  
(yes I know these are personal affairs and that no good writer would dare babble about this kind of thing but  
1. It's in my nature to give reason for bad behavior  
2. Who said I was a good writer?)

Just saying that, whenever I DO get time to work on The MatF, it always turns out miserably  
So please read, review and bear with me ¿


	11. Capitulo Onze

Author's note: Tah-dah! The last chapter in my little hidey-hole...  
Soon I'll start posting chapters as soon as I write andobsessively go over them XD  
I apologise in advance about how confusing Nazo's outfit is...one day I'll have a link on my profile that shows the costume designs XD  
:hooray bad descriptive skills:

Disclaimer: Dear lord...do I have to write these for EVERY chapter?

-------------------------------

Magician and the Fool: Capitulo Onze

_My name is that of days gone by_

_My face is sweet, of cream, of pie_

_I write my letters of light and love_

_Plainly in the sky  
Now tell me sir,_

_What am I?_

_A sweet specter of my imagination… _"More riddles Nazo-chan? You're ruthless" Hisoka threw on a tired expression. White gravel crunched under his shoes as he walked toward the train car; its host lay atop and out of sight.

"_Will you won't you will you won't you…_will you answer me?" she kept out of sight, lazily twirling her finger for a tiny orchestra. "Will you won't you will you won't you won't you answer me…" she sang sleepily half to herself, filling whatever silence he chose to create.

"A fairy" he raised an eyebrow and chuckled. Hisoka might've been good at mind games and riddles, but who was to say that he knew nursery rhymes? "Or better yet…a Nopperabo" he smirked to his own faceless apparition.

"Oooh I like those!" She sat up excitedly, scooting to the edge of the car and laid back down,letting her head hang over upside-down. "Why didn't I think of those? Hmmn…they sound better" she pouted and held her head. Her face was stark white once more, but considerably calmer than last time. Only a bit of blue around the eyes and lips, a blue powdered blush and small yellow stars on her cheeks. Her hair however, had jumped to a completely different end of the spectra: stark yellow. Blonde is the technical term, but it really was too yellow to be, especially in the way it whipped around "You're still wrong though!" she grinned and flicked the plastic light bulbs at the ends of her antenna headband. "I'm a lightning bug!" she grinned and sat up displaying a pair of outstretched nylon fairy wings. "See?" she stood and grinned over her shoulder. Another strange jumpsuit…where does she buy them? Powder blue with a pattern of yellow bubbles, gathered tufts of white fur at her ankles, wrists, neck and hips, punctuating in an oversized plastic light bulb…where it would be on the insect.

Hisoka shook his head and gave a stifled laugh. _This_ was his visitor? She was too cute and bubbly to be a killer…at least one that gave him this much excitement. "A firebug?" he smirked, watching her leap down from the train car, landing on the gravel with a crunch.

"Not firebug, _lightning_ bug" Nazonazo held up her finger and lectured him. "Firebugs are humans who start fires…and if you call me that you might spoil the surprise" she grinned finally flicking open her eyes. Even in all that playful blue and yellow, her eyes were still a crazed pink. "Nope, just a cute little firefly. Buzz Buzz Buzz"

"Surprise?" Hisoka licked his lips and grinned "Were you planning an assault as soon as a I got here?"

"You're not very bright are you?" Nazo narrowed her eyes at him and shook her head "If it was as soon as you got here we wouldn't be sitting quietly having this little chat now would we?"

"You're so cruel to me Nazo-chan" he snickered holding his head. "You're a lure then" he met her eyes with a cold gray gaze, always with a disarming smile.

For a moment Nazo's smile faded, the black paint drawing up to her cheekbones acting as a grin instead. "…Wrong again" she said quietly, pink eyes not quite so carefree. Silence choked even the fresh breeze in the train yard; the two merely stared each other down, one gaze calm the other starting to shake.

"I liked your riddle" he smiled sweetly. The blatant lie in his expression aimed to tease her, managing to break the tense air between them.

"I thought you might" Nazonazo smiled back, also changing face. "The thought process is a little abstract, most people don't get it"

"So you've done this before?" his smile was crooked; he'd caught her in a net so to speak.

"I have." She said bluntly. There was no play in her voice, partly because it was the only way to keep a level head in this situation. "But you understood it…I'm glad" she smiled, almost nervously.

"How many?" the magician hissed, shooting down her attempt to change the subject.

Nazo stood silent for a few seconds, changing the subject back "How did you like it? How difficult was it?"

He held that grin with a challenging eye, not hesitating a moment in his answer "Difficult enough to put my head through a wall"

Nazo was taken aback, not by his answer but in his confidence. He was picking her apart and poking fun at her shaky rhythm to their conversation. She smiled once more and closed her eyes searching for her confident mask.

"Who do you work for Nazo-chan?" player one's turn came again for the question and he took it with gusto.

"…I don't work for anyone" she smiled wider, feeling those hazel eyes boring into her blue lids like cold metal drills.

"Fireflies don't work alone" He took a step toward her, his tone kept teasing.

"I don't work for anyone" she backed up, her tone growing more and more unsure.

"I know who's out for my throat. You're working for him"

"I'm not" Her wings pressed against her shoulders; she was backed up against the train car.

"So you know who I'm talking about?" the magician chuckled, continuing forward.

"I don't" her pink eyes hid once more, murmuring softly; something of a test to note his position

"You're just a tool to draw me out" he mimicked her volume, proving he wasn't even a step away

"That I'll admit. But for no one but myself"

"So what is your intent with me?" he chuckled, a drawl on his tongue as if he said something lewd

"I won't tell you that so easily Magician" she met his eyes with a spark in hers

"Who do you work for Nazo-chan?" he spoke low like a haunting echo pedal

"I don't work for anyone" she shut her eyes again, feeling a tortuous hand brush against her cheek

"Who are you really Nazo-chan?" the magician held her jaw and whispered against her forehead

"…Just a fool." And with that the light bulbs lit, letting her vanish like the flash of a camera.

_End Capitulo_

---------------------- 

Choppy enough for you?  
Sorry if the sentences are short, in fact it's terribly annoying re-reading it.  
But it conveys the fact that the conversation is uncomfortable and very quick and cutting right?

Also another devastating cliffhanger  
(This one's real though, I haven't written much more than this XD)  
And oh--what's that I see? Is that a mysterious escape and a plot thickener?  
:pours beef stock into the plotline: I don't know WHAT you're talking about...  
(In case you don't recognise my reference to Rachel Ray, Beef stock is basically broth from the meat used to add thick flavor to a soup or light stew...NEVER COOK WITHOUT IT! XD)

ahem...I'm getting worse and worse at getting off topic 6.6¿  
The will-you-won't-you song is from Alice in Wonderland, which is actually the Lobster Quadrille sang by the mockturtle and gryphon  
(XD yes I am a dork, and so are YOU if you caught that...)  
oh about the Nopperabo: 

Nopperabo - A common monster in Japanese folklore; A faceless female ghosts who haunts and kills men who mistreat women.

And "firebug" is what they used to call pyromaniacs back in the olden days...notice how tediously detailed I get yet?

This author's note was terribly long T.T¿ I apologise, please review! 


End file.
